Contents

Nature

Servants are Heroic Spirits made into special familiars of the highest rank that are bound to the Master. Pure Heroic Spirits, the "main body" in the Throne of Heroes, can only be summoned by the World, and summoning even one is considered to be a miraculous occurrence. Differing from the normal definition of familiars that can be likened to minor mascots unable to be stronger than their masters, Heroic Spirits are the most powerful of beings with which even the five magicians would never be able to forge a contract with. Rather than it being a hard process to summon them or the fact that they far surpass magi, it is their intrinsic nature in that they are beings beyond magecraft. Magi can perform rituals to borrow their power to mimic them, but cannot summon actual Heroic Spirits themselves.

Even the Holy Grail lacks the power to summon a true Heroic Spirit, so the process is facilitated by summoning them into one of seven vessels prepared beforehand.[2] The Greater Grail makes a copy using information from the "main body" of the Heroic Spirit, an "emanation", that returns to them as information, in the form of a soul, upon the death of the Servant. Disconnected from the "main body", they are able to know of the actions of the Servant through records, as if reading a book.[1] Due to this, any Heroic Spirit summoned in multiple Holy Grail Wars will lack knowledge of previous summonings. The only exemption is King Arthur due to her unique circumstances.

Similarly as to how daemons require a form invented by humans in order to take shape, Heroic Spirits need a form to exist in the world. The vessels, classes, act as their temporary name and method of existing. Acting like a "passport to the present", the vessel prepares them for their role as a familiar in advance, allows them to take on that role to help them take form, and brings them forth into the world. Each class identifies only the core skills of the Heroic Spirit because replication of all their abilities is impossible. Their main traits align with the class and are given form, matching the principal nature of the class.[3] Only heroes matching the attributes of the classes are brought forth, allowing them to be summoned into any reflecting their abilities.

Although too powerful to be controlled by humans, they are bound by three Command Spells, representing the Masters' "right to rule" over them, with obedience towards the Command Spells being the "absolute condition required for materialization." Due to the prospect of having a wish granted by the Holy Grail, it also serves as an incentive to cooperate with the Master, as well as requiring them for energy upkeep and acting as their anchor to the world. Killing them will normally go against their purpose, but the Command Spells protect the Master from those who would kill them to seek out one who would be more suitable.

Characteristics

Servants are beings able to switch between a Spiritual Body and Material Body at will. While in spiritual form, they cannot be easily detected by enemies due to being invisible to the naked eye and most forms of scrying, or be affected by physical interference. They can travel where they please without being impeded by walls, but they also cannot carry anything in that state. Their senses are limited to spiritual sensations, so they must materialize in order to fully experience normal senses when sharing a visual link with their Master. Their upkeep cost is low when not materialized, so many Masters prefer them to stay in spirit form when they are not fighting or doing other tasks that require them to be in physical form to lower the cost on themselves. Depending on the disposition of the Servant or a special case like Saber, such an order may be impossible. It is also hard for them to affect a Material Body in that state, so they must materialize to properly engage in combat.

While they may bleed and take damage to their organs, their true being resides in a Spiritual Core they obtain upon first materializing. Their Material Body envelopes it, and damage must be inflicted to it in order for them to be defeated. It gradually diminishes under magical energy expenditure and while sustaining bodily damage, and their expenditure will escalate under such conditions. If it is damaged through powerful magical energy, curses, or Noble Phantasms, it will be destroyed, meaning that the Servant can no longer stay materialized. The heart and head are directly connected to it, so they are a Servant's greatest weaknesses. Sustaining damage will significantly weaken it, with some Servants having it instantly destroyed and some with Skills like Battle Continuation being able to at least temporarily sustain themselves.[4][5]

While they have Material Bodies like humans, the composition is drastically different. They are of a much higher magnitude, so it is normally impossible for portions to be transplanted onto a human. Shirou Emiya is able to obtain Archer's arm due to them being the same person.[6] Normally the recipient would die of shock, but being even closer than twins allows the surgery to succeed, although Shirou needs to wear the Shroud of Martin to supress the negative effects Archer's arm would have on his body. It is still too much for him even in that case, so being connected to it slowly kills him. Sieg, a homunculus, obtains Siegfried's heart, gaining the ability to transform and have a longer lifespan, yet his body is consumed by memories of Siegfried until it is no longer the same, ending up transforming into a dragon.

Heroic Spirit Possession

Heroic Spirit Possession (英霊憑依?) is the process of a Heroic Spirit fusing with a human in some capacity. It is possible for a Servant to possess a human, fuse with a human to become a Demi-Servant, and for a human to act as a receptacle for the facilitation of the summoning to become a Pseudo-Servant. Normally the souls of Heroic Spirits would overwhelm those of humans, making it impossible for them to intermix and grant a human the powers of the Heroic Spirit. Pure souls like those of homunculi can have a better time accepting their power and withstanding transformation of the flesh. The act of a Heroic Spirit possessing a human for even a single second can be called a miracle in itself.[7]

Possession

The Greater Grail is able to make the process work for Ruler by searching for a match with a compatible physical build, spiritual build, personality, and magical energy. The possession seals the target's former personality and spiritually installs the Heroic Spirit. After receiving clearance from the host personality, it performs a "cross-domain base anatomy backup" to be able to restore the target even if Ruler is killed. It adapts the physical and spiritual build, grants the Class Skills, grants knowledge of Heroic Spirits and the modern era, and inputs other required data. Overwriting and merging with the target's body and personality, Ruler notes having most of the target's memories. Rather than two personalities in one body, it is more that they merged into one.[8]

Through an intermediary, like a part of a Heroic Spirit's body or a related catalyst implanted into someone's body, it can be possible to call down the Heroic Spirit directly from the Throne of Heroes to inhabit their body. The process requires something of great power like a Command Spell, and the transformation will only last a few minutes. Due to possessing Siegfried's heart, his soul, and through special Command Spells, Sieg is able to act as a shell for the body of Siegfried, retaining his own personality while being able to utilize Siegfried's abilities.[7]

Some Servants possess abilities that can cause a strong effect on the body of the Master, so they are able to share a physical body with their Master. The Master can become close to an immortal existence for the duration of the Holy Grail War by not being able to die until the Servant dies, but it does not increase their power to the point where they would be able to fight an existence greater than an Assassin-class Servant.[7][9]

Alignment

All Servants have an Alignment (属性, Zokusei?), a status showing a clear representation of the mentality of the Servant, differing from the elemental alignment of magi. It is broken down into two parts, a combination of the principles they consider important to their personality. Principles are reflected as Chaotic (混沌／渾沌, Konton/Konton?), Lawful (秩序, Chitsujo?), and Neutral (中立, Chūritsu?, "True"), and their personalities are reflected as Good (善, Zen?), Evil (悪, Waru?), and Neutral (中庸, Chūyō?). Other personalities include Summer (夏?) and Bride (花嫁?).Berserker Servants have also displayed Insane (狂化, Kyōka?) as a "principle", and Mad (狂, Kyō?) and Reckless (暴走, Bōsō?) as their "personalities." Differences in personality will not result in major discord, but differing principles can make Servants resolving their differences of opinions difficult.[10] While two Servants may have the same personalities as "good", like King Arthur and Gilgamesh, their Lawful and Chaotic principles lead to differing opinions.[11]

Upkeep

Servants must maintain a certain amount of energy to remain materialized and fight, and they must have an anchor to the world, their Master or another physical being in order to remain in the world. Their current strength is reflected by their current stores of energy, so they will lose strength as they lose energy. The Grail itself provides most of the upkeep for Servants during the duration of the Holy Grail War, so Masters, granted Magical Paths to supply energy, do not need to provide vast amounts of energy normally. More energy intensive Servants like A-rank Servants and Berserker-class Servants can still pose a great threat should they not have the ability to provide their upkeep, even draining them to death in the case of Berserkers. Those who are cognizant are able to throttle the energy they intake, keeping their output to a minimum or using only their own stores when their Masters are unable to provide their full cost.

If the Servant is without a Master, has issues with the Magical Paths, or has a Master unable to supply energy, they must supplement themselves elsewhere. As Human Spirits, they have the ability to consume the souls and minds of people and convert them into energy. Their basic abilities do not change from such nourishment, but they become tougher as their magical energy capacity increases. They can also intake semen or blood for energy depending on their method of processing it. Places like Ryuudou Temple can naturally allow them to subside longer, and draining directly from leylines is possible for some. With a full stock of energy, they can subside for a time even with the constant cost of upkeep, and they regain some energy from their own magic circuits daily. Remaining in spiritual form can decrease their upkeep, and while in material form, dematerializing weapons and armor can help cut it somewhat. Food can be converted to supply some energy, and sleeping can stop the consumption. This only helps when no action is taken due to even a single battle using upwards of twenty times as much energy as simply existing, so such methods are only stop-gaps compared to taking in souls.

Even having a full supply will not help a Servant should they lose their anchor to the world with the loss of their Master, so they must quickly seek out another contract. While normally not much of a burden, their energy noticeably drains by the second without one. Depending on the amount of energy and upkeep cost, they may only be able to stay materialized for a brief time. Saber can manage only two hours, while Caster can last two days with a full supply of energy. Those with Independent Action are able to subside without Master support far longer than others, allowing them a better chance to seek out another contract. Much like the class container, their anchor is a "passport to the current age", so losing that will mean being forced to return to the "outside." They cannot form proper contracts with other Servants, as spirits cannot link spirits to the World. Caster is able to summon Assassin, but it is an improper summoning with several complications; rather than her being his anchor, it is the mountain gate, so Assassin cannot leave the area. Without a Master, they are no different than regular spirits and may be affected by the Church's scripture.

It is possible to remain materialized as a normal familiar after the Holy Grail War ends, but it greatly increases the cost without active support from the Grail. Rin Tohsaka, a superior magus, has no issue in providing for Saber's upkeep, Noble Phantasm usage, and Shirou Emiya's Reality Marble at the same time during the Holy Grail War, but in-turn requires the majority of her energy and Shirou's help in keeping Saber materialized after it ends in Unlimited Blade Works. The only one easily able to maintain a Servant is Sakura Matou after becoming the Grail in Heaven's Feel, granting her a limitless supply that easily allows her to maintain Rider. Gilgameshincarnating allows him to exist indefinitely by granting him A+ Independent Action, allowing him to exist for ten years with no issues. Ruler becomes incarnated through another method, allowing him to exist for about sixty years.

Knowledge

Those summoned as Servants are given the minimum information required to allow them to fit into any era. No matter how ancient the Heroic Spirit, they should understand a number of concepts that were not known in their time.[12] The idea that Saber may be shocked about the immediate world initially worries Shirou Emiya, but the knowledge makes such worry unnecessary. Irisviel von Einzbern first believes that Saber may find flying in a plane to be an amazing experience, but it instead seems less than expected to her. Flying in a plane is also mitigated due to her Riding Skill that could potentially even grant her the ability to fly it. While not given enough information to actually drive modern vehicles, higher ranks of Riding grant the ability to manage such through intuition even if they do not actually recognize what each separate control of a vehicle will actually perform what action. Conversely, even though Ruler understands the basic principles behind the concept of a plane, she is unnerved by the idea of a mass of metal flying through the sky and only has the relief that it did not fall out of the sky after landing. With language, Rider displays the ability to speak English to his Master, Waver Velvet, and also speak Japanese to Taiga Fujimura, allowing him to easily translate between the two.[13]

The knowledge is not all-encompassing, so concepts may still have to be explained to them. Rider is shocked at the true scope of the world compared to the area he had conquered in life, and needs to have certain areas shown to him on a map. He enjoys spending his time learning about different aspects of the world such as wars since his time, and details like the price of a stealth bomber are not immediately known to him. Saber does not understand the idea of dating until it is specifically explained. They are granted knowledge on the Holy Grail ritual itself, but only as much as the outside Masters are told. They do not know of its true purpose in being a method requiring all seven to be sacrificed to reach the Root, only believing it to be a war for a single wish. The knowledge can change upon the nature of the war changing, allowing knowledge of the two teams of Servants and factions of the Great Holy Grail War to be given to them.

They are not granted knowledge on other Heroes through the Grail, but rather from knowledge gained within the Throne of Heroes. Witnessing traits of other Servants can allow them to deduce their True Names with the knowledge even if they are from incompatible eras. Aberrations like Saber, who is not part of the Throne of Heroes due to her circumstances, are able to identify those whose legends would have been known to them in life, such as Cú Chulainn, but cannot identify the legends of later Heroic Spirits like Gilles de Rais even after being directly named.[14]

Variations

Capsule Servant

Class Card

Demi-Servant

Grand Servant

High-Servant

Pseudo-Servant

Shadow Servant

Shadow Servants (シャドウサーヴァント?) are a variety of Servant that is incomplete, degraded, or false. There are number of circumstances that bring them about such as a bad summoning or blackening. The Seven Fake Heroic Spirits created by Jeanne Alter are similar in nature.

Solo Servant

Rogue Servant

Rogue Servant (はぐれサーヴァント?) is a term for Servants who were summoned without a Master or lost their Master. For those in a normal Holy Grail War, they can last between several hours and several days depending on their abilities. There can supplement themselves, but require an anchor to exist for longer than that. Rogue Servants appearing in the Grand Orders are able to exist without a Master.

Top Servant

Top Servants (トップ・サーヴァント, Toppu Sāvanto?) are the most powerful "heroes among heroes" in human history who represent the pinnacles of Heroic Spirits. When summoned by the Moon Cell to deal with threats like the awakening of Velber 02 in Fate/Extella, they are said to be summoned in a special class different from the normal classes.

Summoning

Masters summon their Servants at the start of each ritual. Different system possess different means of facilitating the summoning.

Fuyuki-based Systems

Magic circle used to summon a Servant

Under systems based upon the Fuyuki ritual, there are several factors that determine which Heroic Spirit the Master will summon. It is general that the seven participating Masters are all magi due to requiring basic magecraft to properly perform the summoning, but the quality of the Masters does not matter so long as the most basic summoning requirements are met to fill out the Grail's requirement of seven Servants being manifested. Upon selecting the Masters, the Grail distributes the massive amount of magical energy it has gathered among them to facilitate the process.[12]

Performing a summoning ritual facilitates the process in which the copy of the Heroic Spirit is brought into the chosen class container. Most Masters will prepare a catalyst with which to summon their desired Heroic Spirit, but it is not absolutely necessary. Without a specific artifact, the Grail will, rather than base it on their power, choose a Servant based upon similarities to the summoner's own nature. When choosing based on power with a catalyst, bad compatibility may make forming a bond impossible, bringing about hardships without being able to have faith in each other. When allowing for a good affinity, it may bring forth a weaker Servant, and it is possible that a single mistake could rouse bad feelings between them due to the resemblance in their personalities being so close.

Summoning Ritual

While the summoning ritual (儀式の召喚, gishiki no shōkan?) are generally specific, their main goal in the Holy Grail War system is to act as a precaution to create a bond with a perfect, reliable Servant. They really only require a summoning circle, even if unskilled, and a catalyst can bypass the need of chanting a spell. Doing so can create aberrations like Gilles de Rais being placed into a normally unsuitable class or King Arthur having a bad connection with her Master that does not allow her to receive magical energy through normal methods. Flatt Escardos is a complete anomaly in that he is able to complete the ritual without even meaning to summon a Servant, simply by "fiddling" with the magical energy in the area. The connection to his Servant is spontaneously established, and it is unknown if it can be called a miracle, luck, or an achievement of his own latent potential. It is possible to specify in the summoning ritual that the Servant be placed under the Berserker class for those familiar with the workings of the Grail System. By adding in a specific line, Zouken Matou and the Einzbern family, as members of the Three Founding Families, were able to choose this class during the Fourth and Fifth Wars respectively. In the Great Holy Grail War, each faction has a summoning ritual according to the color they represent.

Catalyst

The catalysts to summon Archer, Saber and Rider respectively in the fourth war

Catalysts (触媒, Shokubai?) are symbols and holy relics used to attract the desired Heroic Spirit. Requiring something with a connection to the hero, it can be anything from a sword, armor, a talisman, or even their bones. While something like Rin's Pendant is an artifact holding great power on its own, it is unable to help summon a Servant. If the catalyst is one that is particularly weak, or if it is one with a connection to many different Heroic Spirits, the Heroic Spirit among the candidates that has good affinity with the Master will be chosen.[15] Some are those that have only been connected to a single Heroic Spirit, allowing them to be brought forth regardless of affinity with the Master.

Catalysts are extremely valuable, and it can take much effort depending on the Servant the Master wishes to summon. The Mage's Association, having been collecting the esoterica of thaumaturgy for generations since ancient times, has a grand number of catalysts "numbering among the stars." Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald is able to order a relic from Macedonia, while the Einzberns have to specifically have Avalon excavated from Cornwall. Within the Fate/Apocrypha world, the spread of the Holy Grail War system means many catalysts quickly disappearing over seventy years and numerous Grail Wars. Especially those of Gilgamesh, King Arthur, and Alexander the Great have been scattered and lost over time, and Yggdmillennia specifically collects desired artifacts over decades to procure enough excellent Heroic Spirits. The Association still has enough even then to easily provide seven catalysts to their Red Faction on a short notice.

EMIYA: Rin's Pendant, a one-of-a-kind jewel kept by Shirou Emiya as a keepsake of his unknown savior over the years.[15] Differing from normal, it is not the pendant Rin owns in the present that acts as the catalyst. EMIYA is instead a case where he holds a catalyst with a connection to his summoner.

Medusa: Mirror dug up from a temple in Eritrea, an item with ties to an old Earth goddess of Greece.[15] It is noted to have been a weak catalyst to Medusa, so Sakura Matou's similar personality plays a role in the summoning.

Ozymandias: Nefertari's necklace. Ozymandias had also noted that there were several other objects that could have served as catalysts, such as the remains of his war chariot, his bow used in the decisive battle against the Hittite King, the epitaph of the contract he exchanged with the Hittites, or something that had been plundered from his own mummy.

Divine Spirits cannot be summoned normally under most systems. Due to their nature, it is nearly impossible for them to manifest in the current world.

Fuyuki - Within the Fuyuki system, summoning full Divine Spirits is beyond its ability, and it is said the capability to reproduce phenomenon of that level would render the Holy Grail unnecessary in the first place. Only through losing their complete Divinity did Chiron and Brynhildr become existences able to be summoned, and Medusa, more of a Divine Spirit than a Heroic Spirit, became applicable only after her Divinity decreased through becoming a monster. The Einzberns were confident in their ability to circumvent their own system to bring about the god Angra Mainyu, but he was a Heroic Spirit instead.

Moon Cell - Within the Moon Cell, the recorded Divine Spirits are considered to be non-human Heroic Spirits and stored in its Servant records. Though none are summoned for the proper Holy Grail War, BB creates the Alter Egos from combining several goddesses into each of them.

FATE - Under the FATE system, it is possible for Divine Spirits to be summoned, but Dr. Roman explains that such a thing should be impossible.

Class Cards - Under the Class Card system, Julian Ainsworth has encapsulated the power of Magni into a Class Card.

Noble Phantasm (宝具, Hōgu?): The strength of the Noble Phantasm one owns.[11] While the ranking will often match their strongest Noble Phantasm, it will sometimes only reflect a secondary Noble Phantasm, or display a ranking higher or lower than their available wares.[20][21][22]

Each of the statistics and Skills are translated into specific parameters, reflecting the individual ability of each Servant. They display strength and speed far beyond normal humans, showing in battle displays likened to a "dimension that is completely at odds with the physical laws of this world." Simple hand-to-hand combat between two Servants is enough to wreck a city street in a manner able to be compared to having been carpet-bombed, damaging the ground with only their footfalls, cutting metal with only the backlash caused by their weapons clashing, and tearing away iron from simply brushing against it with weapons.[12] The usage of their Noble Phantasms can easily leave an area in complete ruin, some displaying the capability to easily wreck part of a city with minimum usage or even an entire city should enough time pass.

Both their movement speed and dexterity is enough to make them invisible to the human eye, looking like a breeze of wind when running past and only leaving the aftershocks of their attacks to be felt by onlookers.[12][23] Compared to even a top-class motorcycle like Saber's V-Max able to reach over four hundred kilometers per hour, the dexterity of a Servant places them far above it in both maximum acceleration and speed, and they can rival a jet fighter in speed with proper footwork. It may be still advantageous to use a motorized vehicle in a pursuit due to it only relying on its fuel rather than using their own energy while running on foot.[24][25] The speed of bullets travelling faster than the speed of sound poses no threat, unable to surpass the speed with which they wield their weapons, and those with greater dexterity can easily deflect them with their weapons.[24][25] Not bound by normal logic, they are able to move up the sides of buildings simply by kicking off the sides.

Even the smallest of Servants will have little issue in carrying a person, and Rider, casually copying something out of a comic, is able to lift a vehicle from a construction site to slam down onto her opponents.[8][26] Even those who are physically weak compared to others like Caster-class Servants show great feats of strength, Gilles de Rais displaying grip strength enough to easily crush a human skull and Medea severing an arm with a ritualistic dagger unable to normally even be considered lethal to a regular human.[27][28]

Masters who have made contracts with Servants have the ability to read out the status of a Servant with powers of clairvoyance. It is a unique ability granted by the Grail that summoned the Heroic Spirits, so it cannot be used by those without a contract. They can see through the abilities of the other Servants and compare them to those of their own so that they can guide them as efficiently as possible in battle situations. Tokiomi Tohsaka owned a book that provides a similar ability, but it is useless to a full Master. It was passed on to Rin Tohsaka after his death, and she gives it to Shirou Emiya because he lacks a proper connection to Saber. The book itself is blank, but simply looking at a random page gives him an image in his head that allows him to look upon all known statuses of the Servants in the War. Reading the book will give him new details any time he reads it, and Rin says that he will be able to identify Servants from intuition without using the book after he gets used to it. It is reflected in-game as the Servant status screen.

Factors

The strength of the summoned Servants depends on various factors. It is ideal if the Servant can wield their original power as a Heroic Spirit, but it is also possible that they can even surpass their original selves in the case of the attribute enhancement from Mad Enhancement of the Berserker class.[29] It is also possible to obtain abilities from Class Skills they did not originally have in life, such as Riding modern vehicles, or have their own attributes strengthened by their classes' natural attributes.[30]

Cultural Sphere (文化圏, Bunkaken?) - The Land (土地, Tochi?) in which the Servant is summoned and the Recognition (認識, Ninshiki?) they receive there are factors that play a role in their strength. The closer they are to the stage of their legend, a geographical boost, and the more that they are known makes them "stronger", bringing them closer to the strength they had in their legend and providing them with more of their equipment displayed in their legend. Depending on the circumstances, it is possible it can bless them with additional Noble Phantasms.[31] The boost from recognition alone is not that large in making a difference in power as when Rin Tohsaka is speculating on Gilgamesh's ability to overwhelm other Servants.[32] Land plays a greater factor with Cú Chulainn, Heracles, and King Arthur being three heroes around the same level of strength when summoned in Europe. Each would be strengthened in Europe and benefit most greatly in battle in their home country, though Heracles' fame would allow him to display excellent power throughout all of western Europe.[33] Cú Chulainn, gaining zero influence from not being known as well in Japan, does not fully display his "shining existence" on par with them while in Fuyuki, but would anywhere else in the world.[34][35] He would obtain several benefits from being summoned in his homeland, Ireland, and outfight Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who would have an advantage when both are unaffected by the cultural sphere and have other factors at play. Vlad III gains a great boost in Romania, placing him on the same level as those famed heroes, and Semiramis gains her maximum fame while in the confines of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Magical Energy of the Master - The more powerful the magical energy of the Master, the greater the Servant will be able to reach the strength they displayed in their legend. If they cannot provide proper energy or if the Servant lacks a Master for a time, their parameters lower in proportion. If it is a lack of energy, unknown factors will lower parameters and Skills with some Servants, while the Master's way of life may affect others.[31][36]King Arthur, serving under several different Masters, displays a number of different sets of parameters due to fluctuating levels of energy. Under Shirou Emiya, she receives no energy because his Magical Paths are obstructed and cannot display her full strength. Kiritsugu Emiya is able to supply energy to have her be stronger than when under Shirou, but her luck is affected by his personality due to still not providing enough energy. Rin Tohsaka is an excellent magus that allows her to unleash her full abilities without being affected.[31] Two Servants who would be balanced differently under other circumstances may find the balance tipped when one has better Master support.[35]

Parameter distribution diagrams.

Container Parameters - Unmodified by the strengths and weaknesses of specific Heroic Spirits, the containers of the seven standard Servant classes of the Fuyuki Grail War possess known base parameters.[37] The parameters of the containers has not been shown to affect summoned Servants, allowing for parameters higher and lower than those of the containers. If the hero should be utterly weak to the point of defenselessness like Stheno and Euryale, it is possible for the containers to increase their strength far beyond their regular selves.

Strengthening

Ascension

Under the FATE system, it is possible for Servants to undergo Ascension (霊基再臨, Reimoto Sairin?, Spirit Foundation Second Coming), a reform for the Servants to become stronger by coming closer to their "starting point of conception." It may even bring about a younger, more inexperienced form without reducing their power as a Servant because it is the "most fitting figure" for them.[38]

Form Change

Form Change: Altered Morphology (形態変化フォームチェンジ, Keitai HenkaFōmu Chenji?) is an element present in Fate/Extella that allows for Servants to be strengthened in battle, altering their outward appearance and weapons. This is only given to the wielders of the Regalia, rings that symbolize the Royal Authority of SE.RA.PH, given to Servants who have won a Moon Cell Holy Grail War.

Mythological Mystic Code

Within the Moon Cell, unlocking their Origin as a legend within a Servant grants them great power on the same scale as the Ten Crowns possessed by BB, granting them a Mythological Mystic Code (神話礼装, Shinwa Reisō?).

Battle

Battles between Servants can be called a process of gradually shaving off the magical energy that forms their bodies. Attacks that consume a great amount of magical energy will inflict a massive amount of damage on the opponent, but it will also weaken the attacker in the process. In order to inflict a great amount of damage with minimum expenditure of magical energy, it is necessary for them to collect intelligence regarding the enemy and assault their weakness. The greatest weapon is their Noble Phantasm, and a battle between Servants can often be called a battle between Noble Phantasms.

When describing their strength, they can be likened to a single jet fighter in pure attack power, far beyond the ability for a single person to fight. While strong, they would have to refuel many times in order to destroy a city. Though there are many modern weapons that are more powerful, their status as spiritual bodies makes them among the most powerful due to being immune to modern weapons. Their Noble Phantasms can be likened to a jet's ability to load a nuclear warhead far beyond its normal fighting power, with some Servants having extremely powerful ones.[39] With Servants, those with an "extremely average Noble Phantasm" would have one around the level of B Rank which has strength able to be represented through numbers. Broken Phantasms, Invisible Air, and Gae Bolg's thrown strike all deal pure physical damage, while Gae Bolg's piercing version carries a conceptual effect able to kill opponents of a much higher level than the wielder.[40]

True Name

The True Name (真名, Shinmei?) of a Servant is something vital to battle, as it can reveal much about them. They most often have their Masters refer to them solely by their class name unless they do not care like Assassin of Black, wish to have a closer connection to their Master like Caster after she reveals her identity, or are under circumstances where it no longer matters like those trapped in the Sakura Labyrinth. There are Servants and Masters with extreme confidence or no filter in revealing their True Names for all to hear, such as Rider exclaiming his name without regard and Illyasviel von Einzbern having supreme confidence in Berserker even with his name revealed.

Their names can reveal certain traits about their abilities, allowing for specific countermeasures, and there are many famous heroes that had met untimely deaths in life. Those killed by poison will be more susceptible to it, those shot down by arrows will be weak against them, those with weak spots will be severely disadvantaged if they are targeted, and those with traits like being weak to monster-slayers or dragon-slaying weapons can be specifically damaged in accordance. Even without such a specific countermeasure being available to one Master, releasing that information to the other Masters can allow for other countermeasures to be brought forth. Most Masters should know instantly of their own Servants' identities, but something like Secret of Pedigree can block even that, and the refusal of a Servant to disclose it can keep them from knowing. In the case of a weak Master susceptible to mind control, they may forgo telling them altogether until necessary.

Famous heroes like King Arthur and Siegfried are very likely to have their identities found out more easily than others, with simply glancing upon Excalibur being enough for any Heroic Spirit to identify King Arthur. Others need to utilize their Noble Phantasms before they reveal themselves, but it may require deductive reasoning even then. While the oldest legendary hero Gilgamesh is able to show off his Noble Phantasms without many being able to guess, and despite his belief that it should be obvious to others, he generally discloses it himself. Someone like Archer, being a Counter Guardian from the future and displaying numerous Noble Phantasms with Unlimited Blade Works, is a complete anomaly to others, greatly confusing all who fight him with his contradictory traits that do not match any known hero. There are also those without specific weaknesses whose True Names will bring no trouble if revealed, like Astolfo.

There may be slight variations to the True Names depending on different circumstances:

Alter (オルタ, Oruta?) - Servants greatly altered from their normal selves through various means are often given the title of "Alter" after their name. True Archer, an altered Heracles, rejects being called "Heracles Alter" and instead chooses his "human name" of "Alcides".

Lily (リリィ, Riryi?) - Servants who take on a more youthful appearance compared to their older selves are often given the title of "Lily" after their name. This title is normally only applied to female Servants, but those like Child-Gil and Alexander are referred to as Lily Servants elsewhere.

Affinity

Affinity between Servants can factor into battles.

Class Affinity - The various classes posses compatibilities against each other. Within the gameplay of Fate/Grand Order, this results in increased and decreased damage, but it is unknown what effect it has in the story. The only time it has been mentioned is within Fate/Grand Order, and no other story has mentioned it. [41] Class affinity is said to be large enough that it should be factored into fighting the enemy.[42]

Hidden Attribute - The five main attributes Heroic Spirit affect Servants as well, but it does not provide a great advantage and does not need to be factored into battle.[42]

Humans and Modern Weaponry

As spiritual beings and divine mysteries, Servants cannot be harmed by normal means and are still considered spirits even in physical form, so they cannot be physically harmed by regular humans or modern weaponry.[43][44] They can only be harmed by attacks accompanied by magical energy like a Servant throwing dirks imbued with magical energy, so they can ignore even debris in battle unless it should become contaminated by an enemy's magical energy.[7] Only Servants can normally harm other Servants physically, so even a paper knife could be used to harm a Servant should another Servant wield it.[43] Servants that are physically incarnated through methods such as blackening can no longer return to spiritual form, allowing them to be damaged with strong enough magical weapons able to pierce the shadows surrounding them in the case of blackening.[44]

For a human trying to apply pressure to a Servant, even one physically the size of a child, it feels like trying to bend a steel beam. Punches with all of their strength will not even cause a Servant to budge a millimeter, and even Souichirou Kuzuki, whose punch is potent enough to crush a human's skull, can only slightly move Archer's head from the impact. Stabbing them with a knife does nothing but bring about a "prickling irritation" that does not hurt at all.[8][45] They can by harmed by physical attacks strengthened magically through Reinforcement or enough Command Spells.[46][47] "Mere bullets" normally pose no threats to Servants regardless of the caliber, but firearms wielded as regular weapons by Servants like Francis Drake's pistols are able to inflict damage, and those ascended to the rank of Noble Phantasm like through Lancelot's Knight of Owner can prove lethal with a single shot.[24][48]

Other opponents

Beings other than Servants that are able to combat Servants are few in modern times. Beings such as Arcueid Brunestud at 30% of her strength, Amaterasu, and Kingprotea would always generally win against a single Servant due to their overwhelming ability. Arcueid could potentially be overwhelmed by two Servants fighting at once even though she is around four times as strong as one, while Amaterasu and Kingprotea require the strength of several Servants to be defeated.[39][49] If speaking of a Servant with an extremely average Noble Phantasm, the members of the Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, Kouma Kishima, and Aoko Aozaki can fight directly, while Ciel and Shiki Ryougi's third personality can keep up in a defensive fight that can still be called a fight. Ryougi's normal personality and Shiki Tohno have no chance of matching Servants, but the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception they carry are capable of affecting such beings whether they are incarnated or spiritual bodies.[40][50][51] Humans utilizing ten Command Spells would also be able to damage Servants.[46]Kirei Kotomine and Kiritsugu Emiya at the peak of their strengths during the Fourth Holy Grail War could defeat Servants, but only when the weakest, Caster and Assassin, are at their most exposed, or when they have special conditions in their favor like surprise or suitability against the opponent.[52]

Against Dead Apostle Ancestors, both are types of beings that live in Mystery, so such battles would come down to "having the means of killing the other guy somehow." Servants will generally hold a slight advantage, barring compatibility issues, and the Knight classes, Saber, Archer, and Lancer, will all be able to have solid fights. While Saber's Excalibur is extremely effective against those who overwhelm by material quantity and alienness, there are those capable of surviving being hit by Excalibur-class attacks through pure endurance. At the same time, those same ones with extreme endurance would have a tough time with Lancer's Gáe Bolg.[53]ORT, to which Earth's rules do not apply, and Primate Murder, which has an advantage against primates and requires seven Counter Guardians to control, can be called in a league of their own above both Ancestors and Servants.[54][55]

Classification

Seven standard classes

Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail are placed into one of various classes. The seven standard classes are the Three Knight (三騎士, Sankishi?) classes of Saber, Lancer, Archer, and the Four Cavalry (四騎, Shiki?) classes of Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker.[29] There are also non-standard Extra Classes (エクストラクラス, Ekusutora Kurasu?) that are "split off from the regular servant classes in order to take on certain roles", such as Ruler which oversees the Holy Grail War.[56]

Under the Fuyuki-based rituals, it is said that only the Three Knight classes will definitely be summoned according to the framework of the ritual, allowing for variation in the rest of the classes. Classes are said to have occasionally changed between the various Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. More than one version of the same class cannot be summoned, even if all the Masters were to use the variation in the summoning chant to get a Berserker-class Servant for example.[57] Under the Snowfield Holy Grail War, the Saber-class does not even exist. Under the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, there are 128 Servants summoned at once, so there are many Servants sharing the same classes.

Servants are normally only of the singular class under which they are summoned, but certain circumstances allow for multiple classes at once or class changes. Elizabeth Báthory and Li Shuwen undergo unconventional changes to the Berserker class. Assassin Servant Henry Jekyll and Berserker Servant Hyde can switch between each other at will with their Noble Phantasm Dangerous Game, and Tokugawa Ieyasu can switch between all seven classes based on his retainers with his Noble Phantasm. Double Summon allows for two classes to be utilized simultaneously, limited only to the Cavalry classes and "modern classes" like Gunner. Joan of Arc Alter displays the ability to bestow the "benefits of Berserkers" upon Servants, such as making Saber Servant Le Chevalier d'Eon into "Berserk-Saber." Elizabeth Báthory (Brave) possesses the Skill "Double Class" from being the result of a fusion between her Lancer and Caster counterparts, but the ability has no special characteristics. While not actually changing classes, it is possible to visually alter the class of a Servant in the Moon Cell, such as Jinako Carigiri changing Karna's class from Lancer to Launcher.

Standard Classes

Saber: Servants placed within this class are agile and powerful melee warriors armed with swords. It is commonly assumed to be the best class overall, with high ratings in all categories. It also possesses the Riding Skill like the Rider class.

Lancer: Servants placed within this class are very agile and skilled with long-range melee weapons, such as spears, lances, etc.

Archer: Servants placed within this class are usually proficient with projectiles and can survive longer without a Master nearby, thanks to their special ability Independent Action; the strongest Archers can be difficult to control at times, in fact, due to their near-total independence from their "Masters".

Rider: Servants placed within this class place emphasis upon speed and powerful Noble Phantasms, which often include their mounts. Their special Skill is Riding, which allows them to fully utilize abilities of their mounts (which can range from simple horses to mechanical vehicles to divine or supernatural creatures).

Caster: Servants placed within this class are adept in magecraft and have a special ability akin to a Reality Marble, called Territory Creation, which alters or creates space around them to enhance their sorcery.

Assassin: Servants placed within this class are proficient in assassination. Within certain wars, only Hassan-i-Sabbah can be summoned due to the etymology of the word "Assassin" acting as a catalyst. The Assassins' special ability is Presence Concealment, which allows them to remain undetected. Offset by their stealth is their moderate combat skills. Due to this, Assassins often target Masters instead of Servants.

Berserker: Servants placed within this class are always heroes who have gone berserk in their lifetime. This trait allows them to use the special ability Mad Enhancement, which trades their consciousness (i.e. sanity) for a large power boost. Most Masters are incapable of controlling their Servant once Mad Enhancement has been activated, which eventually results in their death.

Extra Classes

Ruler: Servants placed in this class govern the Holy Grail Wars, granted rights of an administrator and Command Spells. While typically saints are summoned into it while managing wars related to the Holy Grail, others can be summoned into the class if they are impartial.

Avenger: Servants placed in this class are shown to be driven by revenge.

Alter Ego: This classification is Servants that are split away from the Spirit Origin of another.

MoonCancer: The Servant class is for irregulars that threaten the world of the moon.

Foreigner: Servants of this class are related to the Outer Gods that exist outside the universe.

Saver: This is an irregular class in the Holy Grail War of the Moon Cell inFate/Extra. The only summoning case of this class so far is Buddha. Saver is a "messiah" type Servant, and are carefully selected by the Automaton from the collective records of the Holy Grail War.

Gunner: A non-standard class applicable for the Double Summon Skill that specializes in firearms.

Funny Vamp: The class granted to Arcueid Brunestud by the Moon Cell should she participate as a Servant. While she takes on the Berserker class instead, Funny Vamp reflects her whimsical nature and her status as a creature that drains blood, physical energy and money from men.

Unclassed - Some temporary Servants, like the army summoned into Ionioi Hetairoi, are Servants without a class. Gilgamesh during Fate/Extra CCC is beyond being confined to a class, so he does not have one.

Dragon Rider (ドラゴンライダー, Doragon Raidā?) - The development stage of Fate/Zero was to feature a Rider who rode a dragon and had a climactic battle with Saber that ended with her using Excalibur, but Nasu could not think of one who rode a minor dragon. Alexander the Great was originally to be an unspecified, abnormal-class Servant, but Gen Urobuchi wished for him to be Rider instead and ultimately replaced the idea. Caster and his Gigantic Horror were later used to fill the place of facing Excalibur.[58]

References

Difference between Heroic Spirits and Servants
Heroic Spirits were Heroes who have left behind great feats in legends after death and become subjects of belief.
Normally, a Heroic Spirit is summoned by the world as power that protects humans.
The ones summoned by humans are Servants. However, Heroic Spirits cannot be controlled by humans, and to summon them, the Holy Grail or something with power of that sort must be used.
The Servant system of Fuyuki summons Heroic Spirits with the power of the Greater Grail. Heroic Spirits summoned as Servants are like "emanations", copies created using the information of the main body of the Heroic Servant.

•Birth of Heroic Spirits
It's been explained that Heroic Spirits are beings that heroes whom belief has been gathered upon become after death, but heroes of myths and legends can be born by the gathering of belief even if they didn't exist. Also, there are those who those who make a contract of some sort with the world when they were alive and as compensation become Heroic Spirits after death. In the Fifth War, Hasan Sabaha was a hero that actually existed, and Herakles and Medusa are ones of legends. Also, Emiya and Artoria are beings that became (or will become) Heroic Spirits after their contract with the world. Those who have become Heroic Sｐirits are freed from the constraints of time and are moved to the Throne of Heroes, existing to the outside of the World.

•Heroic Spirit summoning
Heroic Spirits are beings cut off from the time axis and can be summoned in any era, regardless of past and future. However, the only one that can summon the main body of the Heroic Spirits is the "world", and alas, humans can't summon the main body and can only summon their emanations, the Servants. Speaking of which, the information (souls) making up the Servants return to the main body at the same time as the death of the Servant, and the main body can know, as records, about the actions of the Servants as if reading a book.

Servant [Magecraft]
The Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail. They fell under the "Familiar" classification.
Seven Classes (only) were designated in advance. They were souls of the greatest purity called forth by using relics tied to the specific Heroic Spirits.
Originally they were not existences that could be controlled by mere humans, but they were forced to cooperate with the Masters due to the Command Spells. These Command Spells represented Masters' right to rule. For Servants, obedience towards the Command Spells were "the absolute condition required for materialization".
Servants could revert to Spiritual Form at any time. While in Spiritual Form, they could pass through inorganic matters that lack mana.
During Lancer's surprise drop attack from the ceilings at the Emiya residence, he phased through the roof and entered the living room. He then materialized after clearing the ceiling.
While in Spiritual Form, Servants were not affected by physical interference. However, their abilities to affect the material world decreased. As a result, it was considered advantageous to materialize during combat.

Q: Can the spiritual core of a Servant be thought of as a vital area that, if destroyed, would cause instantaneous death, like a human’s heart or brain?

Q: Can the spiritual core of a Servant be thought of as a vital area that, if destroyed, would cause instantaneous death, like a human’s heart or brain?

A: The heart and brain are certainly vital organs. Though they are different from the spiritual core, they can be considered organs directly connected to the core.
When the spiritual core is weakened through mana consumption or damage to the physical body, powerful mana, spells, and Noble Phantasms can no longer be materialized, and the Servant will disappear.

How to Defeat A Servant
When a Heroic Spirit emerges into this world, he first acquires a Spiritual Core. The Heroic Spirit then materialises as the body envelopes this Spiritual Core. In order to defeat a Heroic Spirit, one must inflict damage to the Spiritual Core. The Spiritual Core gradually diminishes as a result of massive magical energy expenditure or sustaining bodily damage. Under these adverse conditions, the Heroic Spirit’s expenditure of magical energy will escalate, and should damaged be inflicted through powerful magical energy, curse, or Noble Phantasm, the Spiritual Core will be destroyed, and the Heroic Spirit will no long be able to remain materialised. The heart and head are connected directly to the Spiritual Core, thus they are the weaknesses of Heroic Spirits. Sustaining damage at these locations will significantly weaken the Spiritual Core.

•Battle of Servants
The battle between Servants can be called a process of gradually shaving off the magical energy that forms the their bodies. Attacks that consume a great amount of magical energy will inflict a massive amount of damage on the opponent, but it will also weaken yourself in the process. In order to inflict a great amount of damage with minimum expenditure of magical energy, it is necessary to collect intelligence regarding the enemy and assault his weakness.

Spiritual Body and Material Body
“Spiritual Body” is a word that describes an existence with spiritual properties. In other words, a shape is constructed without relying on components with physical properties. On the other hand, “Material Body” means something that is identical in structure as our flesh bodies. A Material Body, just like us, cannot walk through walls, and will hurt and become wounded when beaten with an iron baton. However, a Spirit Body is capable of completely disregarding such physical interference. Attacking a Spiritual Body with a baton or sword (unless they are magical items) will only hit empty space.
When Servants materialise, they acquire Material Bodies in this world. They can also switch to Spiritual Bodies through their will. Spiritual Bodies have the advantages such as low mana consumption, and difficult to be detected by enemies. One of the properties of a Spiritual Body is that it is unaffected by physical interference, but conversely it is difficult for a Spiritual Body to affect a Material Body. As a result, Servants Materialise when engaging in combat.

Although both are Material Bodies, the composition of Servants and Humans are drastically different. Naturally, it is impossible to transplant a portion of a Servant’s Material Body to a human. However, Emiya Shirou was able to successfully transplant Archer’s left arm to replace his own lost left arm. How is this possible? It is because Shirou and Archer – Heroic Spirit Emiya are the same person.

Alignment [Others]
In Fate/stay night, all of the Servants' alignments can be viewed on their respective status screens.
The first part indicates the principles they consider important, and the second part indicates personality.
Below is a complete list of alignments featured in the game, for comparison purposes.

•Alignment
A status showing a clear representation of the mentality of the Servant. It represents a combination of the policy they place importance on and their personality, policies being "lawful, neutral, chaotic" and personalities being "good, neutral, evil". These are different from the fire, wind, and other alignments of magi.
Non-matching personalities won't result in major discord, but differing policies will result in difficulty in a Servant resolving differences of opinion with another Servant.
Lawful Artoria and Chaotic Gilgamesh will often have differing opinions despite their personalities both being the same "good".

•Parameter Rule

A set of rules for representing the rank of a particular status. They range from A~E. EX is in a league of its own, representing powerful to the extent of rendering comparisons meaningless. If we assign numbers to ranks, then E=10, with each subsequent rank increasing by +10. Ranks with “+” such as A+ and B+ can momentarily multiply its associated numerical value. For instance, C+(30) can temporarily boost its power to 60, exceeding Rank A (50). Also, “++” represents multiply by three times.

"As Saber - that is, Artoria - is an incomplete Heroic Spirit, she would not possess the knowledge that surpasses time and space one gains when one has reached the Throne of Heroes. Therefore, she is not aware of that tale tainted by insanity, the legend of "Bluebeard", Baron Gilles de Rais."

Servant Summoning
First, the Master performs a ritual to interfere with the Greater Grail, then the Greater Grail borrows the information of the main body of the Greater Grail in the Throne of Heroes.
The information (soul of highest purity of the Heroic Spirit) is blown into the container that is the Class, and the created copy of the Heroic Spirit is the Servant.
The Servant is an unstable existence that should not be in the world so its coordinates in the world have to be anchored, using the Master as the host. The Mater also has the role of supplying magic energy to the Servant.
When performing the ritual, the Master can designate the Heroic Spirit to be summoned by preparing a catalyst with ties to the Servant of his desire. When there is no catalyst, a Heroic Spirit with good affinity with the Master is summoned. In the case of catalysts for multiple Heroic Spirits (for example, the gates of Troy, the symbol of the Trojan War), the Heroic Spirit among the candidates that has good affinity with the Master will be chosen.

Heroic Spirit

Catalyst list

Artoria (King Arthur)

Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur.

Chu Chulainn

A jewel on which is engraved an original rune inscribed by Chu Chulainn. It had been crafted into earrings.

EMIYA

Rin Tohsaka's Jewel Pendant

Gilgamesh

Snake Skin

Medusa

Mirror dug up from a temple in Eritrea. An item with ties to an old Earth goddess of Greece.

Medea

Literature, from Colchis, with ties to Medea

Sasaki Kojirou

The mountain gate.

Hassan-i Sabbah

Since Hassan is the origin of the word Assassin, the class of Assassin itself is Hassan's catalyst.

Unused storyUrobuchi: I was having too much trouble thinking of a Caster, so I asked if I could use a Chinese Xian or something. That's how I learned the "Western only" rule.Nasu: Plus Xian would be too strong.

Nasu: In EXTRA's Grail War, Eastern heroes can be summoned as Servants. The ban is removed.
----Really?! Wasn't Assassin Sasaki Kojirou the only irregular existence...?
Nasu: The summoning system of Fate/stay night's Grail War was created in the world of Western magi, so it can only summon Western heroic spirits. But EXTRA's world itself is irregular, and the Grail War system is different from the previous ones, so Eastern heroic spirits are possible too.

Class Skills
■ Mad Enhancement: EX
Parameters are Rank-Up, but is deprived of most reason.
Even when under Mad Enhancement Spartacus is able to hold a conversion. He is fixated on "always making the most difficult choice," so essentially, a mutual understanding with him is impossible.

Personal Skills
■ The Honor of the Battered: B
The magical energy cost of treating Spartacus's injuries with magecraft techniques is 1/4 of the normal cost.
Also, even without the use of magecraft after a certain amount of time, the wound will automatically proceed to be healed.

Noble Phantasms
■ Crying Warmonger: The Howl of the Wounded Beast
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Noble Phantasm
Range: 0
Maximum Targets: 1 person
Always active-type Noble Phantasm.
Damage inflicted by the opponent is converted into magical energy and stored in the body.
Spartacus can use the magical energy deposited in the body for a boost.
In the case relative to a strong servant, the body itself can transform.

■ Riding: A+
The skill of riding animals and vehicles. Creatures on the level of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast can be used as mounts. However, that does not apply to members of the Dragon Kind.

Personal Skills
■ Charisma: A
Natural talent to command an army. Can be said to have achieved the greatest popularity as a human being

■ Military Tactics: B
Tactical knowledge used not for one-on-one combat situations, but for battles where many are mobilized. Bonus modifiers are provided during use of one's own Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or when dealing against an enemy Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.

■ Divinity: C
Despite the absence of clear evidence, according to many stories it is said he is the son of Zeus, the greatest of gods.

Noble Phantasm
■ Via Expungito: Distant Trampling Domination
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
Range: 2~50
Maximum number of targets: 100 persons
The trampling attack performed with Noble Phantasm "Gordius Wheel." The damage is decided twice, first by the hooves, then the wheels of the chariot. Along with all physical damage, there is also the effects of lightnings, the manifestation of Zeus. Should the target fail its STR check, additional damage will be dealt.

■ Ionioi Hetairoi: Army of the King
Rank: EX
Type: Anti Army Noble Phantasm
Range: 1~99
Maximum number of targets: 1000 people
Having sworn loyalty to Alexander even after their deaths, his personal guards who had turned into spirits, manifest into Servants together with the ruler. The summoned ones are Servants without Masters, however each have the rank E- equivalent of the "Independent Action" skill, allowing materialization possible for a maximum of 30 turns.

Legend
A demigod hero of Greek Mythology, he was born between the King of Gods Zeus and a human girl. He received the violent hatred of Zeus' wife Hera because of his origins and was tormented by the goddess at every turn. However, he entirely overcame the difficulties he had been given, and was enshrined as a god in the end.

Heracles had an extremely violent temperament as an infant, and grew up as a shepherd in order to obtain a gentle heart. Having grown into a fine adult, Heracles was recognized for several feats, and gained two children as well as the right of succession to the throne. However, Hera made Heracles go temporarily insane and he killed his wife and children, ending up in the role of a slave to the king to atone for his sins. Here the jealous king gave him a challenge, the famous Twelve Labors. The Labors were all things that a human could not achieve but Heracles completed them safely, and at the same time he was freed from slavery, he received an immortal body.

However, the adventures of Heracles and Hera's hatred did not end there. Hera's numerous artifices resulted in Heracles' poisoning by his own wife from his second marriage. In his final moments, Heracles cremated himself, surrendering to Zeus's judgment. The gods after consulting recognize Heracles' feats, and he was recruited as a god like his father, becoming a constellation.

Tactics
An excellent warrior, he possesses the qualifications corresponding to six classes excluding Caster. Other than specializing with the bow, he has mastered every weapon. However, all that is talk about times when he is not Berserker. Heracles as a Berserker has lost his rationality, and exists only to utterly defeat the enemy from the front as directed by Ilya. Naturally, there is no such thing as detailed tactics, leaving it to physical ability and brandishing an axe-sword to strike. Astonishingly, with just that, it is a fact that he demonstrates hand-to-hand combat abilities superior to every Servant. Without breaking to even think about defense, he leaves it to his Noble Phantasm "God Hand."

Class AbilitiesMad Enhancements: B
The Class Skill that characterizes Berserker, it reinforces ability at the cost of reason. As Heracles' possesses the skill at Rank B, in compensation for losing most of his sanity, the levels of all his abilities rise. Heracles beat his harp instructor to death when he was a child, and had many episodes when he killed people in his rage without even hearing them speak. It seems that for Heracles, Berserker that receives "Mad Enhancement" was an easy class to adapt to. Focusing on controllability when out of combat, the rank of "Mad Enhancement" is suppressed by Ilya.

Being close to the strongest Heroic Spirit, even restricted to simple direct melee as consequence of Mad Enhancement, Heracles was undoubtedly the strongest among the Servants. However, because of Mad Enhancement, a variety of sword techniques and skills, and a part of his Noble Phantasms was lost. Having his emotions also sealed off and not able to perform any personally motivated actions, only the reason within his core was not lost, having occasions when he felt something like the will to protect Ilya.

Personal AbilitiesBattle Continuation: A
A skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce mortality rate from injury. Cú Chulainn’s Battle Continuation represents “never give up no matter what”, while Hercules’ represents the ability to survive. The Noble Phantasm that allows for resurrection after death, God Hand, has exceptional compatibility with the “will not die easily” skill Battle Continuation.
The best result is achieved when a resilient body is combined with this skill.

Eye of the Mind (False): B
A danger avoidance ability based on Intuition/Sixth Sense, gained through many ordeals and adventures. Even though Hercules’ sanity was lost due to Mad Enhancement, this skill remained effective as it is nearly an instinct. When crossing swords with a seasoned swordsman like Artoria, he would not fall for half-hearted feints. It is such a troublesome ability for Hercules’ opponents.

Although monstrous in size, Hercules has the highest rank in Agility. As a result, it is very difficult to corner him.

Bravery: A+
With his brave and daring spirit, Herakles is able to neutralise mental interference such as suppression, confusion and charm. However, under the influence of Mad Enhancement, this skill is unable to take effect. While operating correctly, Bravery also increases the damage inflicted upon the opponent during melee combat. This skill allowed Herakles to defeat several monsters empty-handed.

Even the brave warrior’s heart was painted over by the insanity of Mad Enhancement.

Divinity: A
Being a mixed-race child of the King of Gods Zeus and a human, and becoming a god after death, Herakles naturally possessed the highest level of the Divinity skill. However, this matter became a disaster, ending with his complete entrapment in Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm "Chains of Heaven" that grows in strength proportionate to the enemy's Divinity.

A blessing of Gods, as well as a curse. It is a Noble Phantasm given to Heracles, representing immortality. This Noble Phantasm does not have an overt external manifestation such as a weapon or armour, but if you hazard to put a shape to it, the body itself can be called the Noble Phantasm. God Hand turns one’s body into a tough suit of armour and nullifies all attacks Rank B or lower, regardless the attack being physical or magical. It also has the effect of automatic resurrection after death. Because the resurrection effect has 11 uses, Heracles cannot perish unless killed 12 times. In addition, due to Ilya’s immense magical energy, given enough time, the lives lost can also be regenerated.

Resurrection as well as attack-nullification. Besides these two effects, God Hand also possesses a third effect: rendering an attack that it has experienced before useless. Regardless how powerful is the Noble Phantasm that defeated Heracles, it would be completely nullified after he resurrects.

Among Hercules’Noble Phantasms, he trusted this one the most. It was the Noble Phantasm which Hercules used to slay the immortal nine-headed serpent Hydra once upon a time, taking the form of bow and arrow. After killing the Hydra, Hercules could even utilise techniques that emulate the ability of this Noble Phantasm when wielding other weapons. In essence, it is “a high speed attack consisting of nine consecutive strikes, as swift as if the attacks are overlapping”. Even when delivered via sword, spear, or axe, this technique still boasts power on the level of Noble Phantasms. Also, just like Cú Chulainn’s demonic spear Gae Bolg has a technique called “Gae Bolg – Piercing Death Thorn”, Hercules’ technique shares the “Nine Lives – Shooting of Hundred Heads” name with the Noble Phantasm.

Shirou projected this secret sword technique while projecting Hercules’ Axe Sword, thus annihilating the Blackened Hercules. While summoned as a Berserker, Hercules could not use Nine Lives.

Class
A "Servant Class" is a container prepared for materialising a Heroic Spirit that is summoned into the current era as a Servant.
There are seven Servant Classes: Sabre, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker. Since there cannot be repeats of any one class, the seven Servants participating in a Holy Grail War will be of different classes.
Heroic Spirits determine their classes on the basis of their characteristics, and then summoned as the Servant of the corresponding class. For instance, the only class appropriate for Artoria is Sabre, but Hercules, who was said in legends to be proficient with all weapons, can be summoned into all classes but Caster. The affinity between the Master and the Heroic Spirit will determine which class the Heroic Spirit will be summoned into. However, the Einzberns, as one of the "Three Founding Families" and well-informed of the rules of the Servant system, was able to preemptively interfere with the system and summon Hercules as Berserker.
Among all the classes, Sabre, Lancer and Archer are also called the "Three Knights". They are frequently Heroic Spirits from the Age of Gods when sorceries were common. Due to high magic resistance, modern magi are unable to inflict damage to them.
The Assassin class is special, as the only qualifying Heroic Spirits are the Hassan al-Sabbah's.

Saber
Knight of the Sword. The compatible Heroic Spirit naturally needs to possess legends as a knight of sword, as well as the highest levels of attributes in all but MGI. Class Abilities include Magic Resistance and Riding. Also, compatible Heroic Spirits usually excel in delivering powerful burst attacks.

Lancer
Knight of the Lance. Its high qualifying conditions are second only to Sabre. Attributes are excellent overall, in addition, AGI must be high. Of course, Servants of this class are proficient in hit-and-run tactics that capitalise on range and speed. This class includes many Heroic Spirits who were knights.

Archer
Knight of the Bow. A class that excels in possessing powerful Noble Phantasms. The qualifying condition is not attributes, but the possession of powerful projectile weapons or special abilities related to projectile weapons. Highly effective as scouts. They have not only the Magic Resistance ability of the Knight Classes, but also the class ability of Independent Action.

Rider
Mounted soldier. Heroic Spirits who rode mounts (not limited to living creatures) qualify for this class. Although attributes tend to be lower compared to the Three Knight Classes, this is compensated by the abilities of the mount described in legend. Besides Magic Resistance, class abilities also include high Riding.

Caster
Magus. Qualifying conditions only include mastery of sorceries of the highest calibre. Due to this trait, the qualifying Heroic Spirits tend to have low combat abilities. In addition, since the majority of Servants have Magic Resistance, this class is thought to be the weakest of all.

Assassin
Assassin. The only qualifying Heroic Spirits are the generations of Hassan al-Sabbah's, and one of them would be summoned. All of them do not have glorious legends as heroes, thus possess low attributes. Class ability is Presence Concealment, and the use of this ability during battle is the lifeline of Assassin.

Berserker
Mad Warrior. Heroes who have gone berserker during battle qualify for this class. Normally it is considered ideal if a Servant can wield power at the level of the original Heroic Spirit, but "Mad Enhancement" allows for the attribute enhancement of the Servant beyond the ability of the original at the cost of sanity. A class originally used to enhance weak Heroic Spirits.

"Considering the special abilities of Servant classes, Saber has an overwhelming advantage over Caster when they battle. When she achieved the class of the Heroic Spirit of the sword, her ability of magic resistance was increased in magnitudes."

"Saber's sixth sense was also strengthened to a degree due to her class's specialty, almost to the level of precognition. If even she felt uneasy about the enemy, Irisviel also had to reevaluate Caster."

The three factors that affect the status of a Servant are land, recognition, and Master.
With respect to land and recognition, the closer one is to the land (cultural sphere) that was the stage of the legend of the Heroic Spirit and the more that spirit is known, the stronger he is.
The meaning of "strong" here is the Servant becoming closer to the strength, equipment of that of the legend. Through this blessing, the addition of another NP is also possible.
If Chu Chulainn had been summoned in his homeland Ireland, a castle, chariot, protection of sleeplessness, and the like would have been added probably. Also, if the magic energy of the Master is powerful, the Servant will become closer to his strength as in the legend.

Saber - Master: Emiya Shirou

Saber - Master: Emiya Kiritsugu

• STR: B

• STR: B

• CON: C

• CON: A

• AGI: C

• AGI: A

• MGI: B

• MGI: A

• LCK: B

• LCK: D

• Noble Phantasm: C

• Noble Phantasm: A++

Class Skills: • Magic Resistance: A • Riding: B

Class Skills:: • Magic Resistance: A • Riding: A

Because Artoria has served under several Masters, she is a good example for demonstrating the effect that the Master’s magical energy has on Servant Status. Because Shirou’s Magical Paths were obstructed, Artoria’s ability cannot be called that of the best Servant while having Shirou as her Master.

Artoria’s abilities rose when having Kiritsugu as Master. Her LCK status decreased since even Kiritsugu still could not provide sufficient magical energy, as a result the status was affected by the Master's way of life. When having Rin as a Master, Artoria was able to unleash her original abilities without being affected by the Master.

Q: If the Holy Grail War were set in Europe, would Cu chulainn (Lancer), King Arthur (Saber), and Heracles (Berserker) be roughly equal in power?

Q: If the Holy Grail War were set in Europe, would Cu chulainn (Lancer), King Arthur (Saber), and Heracles (Berserker) be roughly equal in power?

A: ...Well, if we’re talking western Europe in general I’d say the first two would be powered up to an equal degree... though England and Ireland, the odds would be sharply in the respective hero’s favor. Heracles would display excellent power in all of western Europe.

Lancer [Servant]
Heroic Spirit of the lance. Requires supreme agility, as well as excellent close combat skills. Though they tend to be less flashy than the other classes, they are a very reliable type of Servant.
The Lancer in the story has a rough and tumble personality, but at his core he believes in justice and is easy to get along with. He is an agreeable youth acting out the role of one gentle in disposition yet strong in body.
His true identity is the great Celtic hero, Cu Chulainn.
If the stage of this Holy Grail War were anywhere but Japan, he would be a shining existence on par with Heracles and King Arthur.
As was mentioned in the story, he is a Heroic Spirit that specializes in survival, capable of returning alive no matter how hopeless the situation. Unfortunately, this time luck wasn't on his side.
It is said that in the midst of battle he would unleash a fearsome war cry, and at the same time his body would swell and bulge with muscle as his behavior became like that of a demon.
However, though he possesses the qualifications to be a Berserker there is no doubt that the Lancer class suits him best.
He responded to the summoning solely because he wanted to engage in a valiant fight to the death, but this simple wish was never granted to him.
He is a tragic Servant, who embodies the cynical notion that "wishes don't come true".

[v] Comptiq 2007-06 issue - Fate Dojo Q & A:Q: Cu Chulainn and Diarmuid are both Lancers, but who will win in an honourble battle?

Q: Cu Chulainn and Diarmuid are both Lancers, but who will win in an honourble battle? In their first engagement with Saber, Cu Chulainn was being pressed hard, but Diarmuid was able to pressure Saber. So... Diarmuid is stronger

A: Diarmuid received more backup from his Master (magical energy supply), thus in terms of pure firepower, Diarmuid was stronger. In Japan, both of them received 0 geographical boost (from the cultural sphere), but if the stage was in Ireland --- Cu Chulainn would have an edge.

Legend
The great king depicted in mankind’s oldest epic – “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. He was an actual king who ruled Uruk, the capital city of ancient Mesopotamia during the Sumer Dynasty 5000 years ago.
A despot who possesses high divinity with 2/3 being God and 1/3 being human, and believed he was invincible. However, answering the call of people who were oppressed by Gilgamesh’s tyrannical policies, Enkidu, a man created by the goddess Aruru, was released to fight against Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu met and battled as enemies, but soon they began to recognise each other and rule the nation together. Gilgamesh gradually began to change after finding a friend who he considered to be an equal, and Uruk became unprecedentedly prosperous. Gilgamesh, as the greatest king, eventually acquired all the treasure on the earth.
The goddess Ishtar wooed Gilgamesh, but was rejected bluntly. As a result, Ishtar unleashed the Bull of Heaven in a fit of rage, wrecking havoc on earth. After her failure, Ishtar complained before the Gods and caused the weakening and eventual death of Enkidu, who could not resist the will of the Gods that created him. The death of Enkidu significantly impacted Gilgamesh, and as a result he set out for the underworld in order to acquire the potion of immortality. However, the potion was drunk by a snake, and Gilgamesh died in despair.

Tactics
Gilgamesh battles by shooting the originals of all Noble Phantasms like bullets via Gate of Babylon. The tactic yields excellent destructive power to magic energy efficiency. Since every Noble Phantasm is a bullet, the real magical energy used is merely the activation cost of Gate of Babylon. Because he possesses the originals of all Noble Phantasms, he can assault the weakness of any Servants. As a result, Gilgamesh has the advantage over most of the Servants in combat.
Because he has absolute self-confidence, he is able to calmly show himself before his opponents. However, depending on mood, he is also fine with scoring kills by raining Noble Phantasms behind the enemies’ back. The will of the king cannot be simply gauged by the concept of tactic.

Class Abilities

Magic Resistance: E
Magic resistance gained through the class ability of Archer. However, since Gilgamesh did not have any abilities that can resist magecraft, it remains at the minimum level of E. Its effect is merely light damage mitigation against sorcery rather than full neutralisation. The cause of his low Magic Resistance is probably related to his Master, Kotomine Kirei’s lack of magical energy. In reality, during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh’s Magic Resistance was elevated to C with Tohsaka Tokiomi as his Master.
Although his Magic Resistance is low, Gilgamesh is able to neutralise most sorceries due to having many items that defend against sorcery, such as the golden armour. The defensive powers of these items are quite high, as Rin’s sorcery was completely repelled.
If magi attempt to use large-scale sorceries and act as “mongrels” that impede the king, Gilgamesh will simply unleash a raging wave of Noble Phantasms and completely crush them without giving them the time to cast spells. (Translator’s Note: Gate of Babylon and Sword Spam are now officially categorised as a form of Magic Resistance.)

Independent Action: A+
With an Independent Action rank that sets him completely apart from the rest, Gilgamesh is able to operate without a Master. With a rank of A+ that exceeds even A, the support of a Master is unnecessary even while unleashing a large amount of magical power. It is an ability that bends the rules and allows for the continued materialisation of Servants even after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War. After being summoned as Archer during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh remained materialised for 10 years until the Fifth.
Since the Fourth Holy Grail War, the ability to freely operate without regard for the Master remained unchanged. However, the ability to remain materialised after the Holy Grail War was not gained until he was showered by the content of the Holy Grail. At the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh was absorbed for a while after being showered by the black mud spilled from the broken vessel of the Holy Grail. However, Gilgamesh could not even be digested by the mud that was filled with “All the World’s Evil – Angra Mainyu”. On the contrary, he was given a flesh body and regurgitated back into the present world. As a result, Gilgamesh was completely incarnated and continued to survive as an existence with a physical body. Also worth mentioning is that, thanks to the changed shape and personality granted by the potion of youth, the super egotistical Gilgamesh was able to live in the human society for 10 years without much trouble.

Personal Skills

Golden Rule: A
Being fated a life that is filled with riches. Gilgamesh lives the life of a nabob and has no money troubles. In the legend, he claimed all the world’s treasure as his own. The originals of Noble Phantasms preserved in his treasury were collected during this period. Although this ability seems unrelated to battle, it plays a great role in arming Gilgamesh.
Upon seeing Gilgamesh’s golden figure, Rin half-jealously called him “Gin-Pika” (Gold-glitter).

Charisma: A+
Often praised as the greatest king, Gilgamesh’s ability to command and lead great armies is excellent. Charisma is a rare talent, and a B rank is sufficient to lead a nation, but Gilgamesh has a rank of A+. At this level, it is not a matter of popularity or skill, but closer to something like sorcery or curse. An army led by Gilgamesh will have a tremendous increase in abilities.
An egotistical Gilgamesh radiating with self-confidence will sure boost the morale of his army to an extremely high level.

Divinity: B (A+)
Due to being 2/3 God, Gilgamesh possesses the highest level of divinity among the many Heroic Spirits. His level exceeds even Herakles, who is the son of Zeus and ascended to the Pantheon after death. However, Gilgamesh despises the Gods because they killed his friend Enkidu, unleashed the Bull of Heaven onto the earth, and caused him much trouble. As a result, his Divinity decreased.
He is the half-man-half-God King of Heroes born from the union of King of Uruk, Lugalbanda, and goddess Rimat-Ninsun. (Translator’s Note: Wait what? Half and half?)

The sword that cuts and divides the World, with output matching or even exceeds Artoria’s Excalibur. Its power will further increase given the support of Noble Phantasms within Gate of Babylon. More correctly speaking, “Sword of Rupture – Ea” is the Noble Phantasm, “Enuma Elish” is the state under which Sword of Rupture – Ea unleashes its maximum output. By generating wind pressure strata, the attack crushes the enemies by simulating spatial rends. In addition, the names “Sword of Rupture – Ea” and “Enuma Elish” are all given by Gilgamesh. They are thought to be references to the Great God Ea (Enki) of the Mesopotamian and Babylonian myths, and the Genesis Epic of the Babylonian myth, Enuma Elish.
The most powerful sword that cannot be duplicated by Unlimited Blade Work. Gilgamesh calls it “something that knows the hellish planet before genesis”.
The three cylindrical blades spin in different directions, generating air pressure strata. Its power will not be neutralised even when colliding with Excalibur.

Gate of Babylon
Rank: E~A++
Type: Anti-Personnel
Range: -

A key-like sword that connects to the “Golden Capital”. The spatial connection with the treasury allows for easy access to the items within. The rank changes to E~A++ because Gilgamesh put all the originals of Noble Phantasms into the treasury. In other words, E~A++ reflects the rank of the items in the treasury. If the treasury does not contain a wealth of valuables, then it will not be a useful Noble Phantasm.
The favourite Noble Phantasm within the Gate of Babylon is the chain which has captured the Bull of Heaven – Enkidu. It is an anti-deity Noble Phantasm that increases in strength as the target’s Divinity increases. It was able to completely seal Herakles.

El-Melloi (boy): Ascension is a reform to become stronger! What is the point of turning back to my old, half-assed self?!
Stheno: For you, there are things that can be done because of that figure....
Stheno: No, maybe the meaning here is that the "starting point of conception*" lies in that figure.
Stheno: Look, the abilities as a Servant have not dropped right?
Stheno: When you are fighting as a "leading actor", that is your strongest.... no, your most fitting figure.

Q: How strong are Servants?Nasu: Well you see, attack power is about the same as one fighter. A fighter has way too much power for one person too stand up against, but to destroy one city they'll have to refuel many times. But what makes these guys dangerous is that since they're spiritual bodies, regular weapons won't work against them. As far as destructive power goes, there are more numerous powerful weapons among modern ones, but as normal weapons won't do a thing to them, they're among the most powerful. Anyway, just as fighters can load a nuclear warhead, they each have their own Noble Phantasms and among the Servants there are ones that have ridiculously powerful ones. That's why when I meant strength being the same as a fighter I thought it would be easier to image. Oh and, if I were to say it in a sort of non-serious way, they'd be 1/4th of Tsukihime's Arcueid I suppose? The strength of one I mean. Against one Servant, Arc would probably win, but against two, while Arc's having trouble against the one, the other could get behind her and nail her... maybe.

[v] Comptiq 2005-10 issue - Fate Dojo Q & A:Q: I have a question about the Servants vs. other character answer in the 9th issue of Comptiq. About a Servant with an average Noble Phantasm, who would have one and what rank would that have been?

Q. I have a question about the Servants vs. other character answer in the 9th issue of Comptiq. About a Servant with an average Noble Phantasm, who would have one and what rank would that have been?

A: That's a serious question. The level of the Noble Phantasm would be B, and ability being represented by numbers would be called an average Noble Phantasm. Broken Phantasm, Barrier of the Wind King (C), Gae Bolg (thrown) (B), that sort.
On the other hand, those with conceptual effects, destiny interference types fall into a special category. With Gae Bolg (regular), no matter how much Arcueid might be superior to Lancer in numbers, she will be killed depending on her luck, you see.

↑Fate/Grand Order - Orleans - Section 6 - One Thing After Another - Da Vinci: Hey guys, are you enjoying your trip through 15th century France? Now then, let's get today's lecture started. Today I'll be talking about Servant categories. Most of the Servants that can be summoned are divided into seven classes. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, Assassin. Each class has various compatibilities. Saber has the advantage over Lancer, for instance. And Lancer over Archer, and Archer over Saber. Rider over Caster, Caster over Assassin, and Assassin over Rider. And Berserker is strong against all classes, but weak when attacked. It's like a game of rock, paper, scissors. Keep this in mind when fighting the enemy. Of course, there are some Servants who don't fall into these categories. I'll explain them another time. Okay, circle's good to go. Have a nice journey!

↑ 42.042.1Fate/Grand Order - London - Section 3 - The Demonic Fog Laughs - Da Vinci: While the make the circle, I'll help you pass the time. Previously, I spoke about Servant class affinity, so I think I'll expand on that. Just as each Heroic Spirit has a story to tell, they have classifications that explain how they were born. There are three attributes: Heaven, Earth, Human. Most Servants fall under one of these categories. Heaven includes Divine Spirits demoted to Heroic Spirits, children of gods, and the embodiments of legends. Earth includes legendary heroes that took hold in the land, fairies, and Demonic Beasts. Human is for heroes and great people who actually existed. I'm included in this group, as a great artist who actually existed. Heaven wins over Earth, but loses to Human. Earth wins over human, but loses to Heaven. And Human wins over Heaven, but loses to Earth. ...Humans believe in gods. However, gods that they stop believing in become "nonexistent." Native heroes and fairies have nothing to do with faith. However, they are no match for the gods that created them. ...And there are rare, special Heroic Spirits that do not belong in any of the three attributes. They are an exception of exceptions. --The Heroic Spirits of the Star. They do not belong to Heaven, Earth, or Human. Yet they exist on earth under heaven, and are born of humans. Servants of the Star have nothing to do with Heaven, Earth, or Humans. After all, they're an exception. That said, these are nothing more than categories. The effects aren't as pronounced as Class affinity, so it's not worth integrating into a strategy. ...And that wraps up this session. Summoning circle setup complete. Good luck in this era, too!

Nasu: There were many Command Spells on his arm. In fact, at one point there was this idea to present the effect of the Command Spells consumed to defeat Zouken in Fate/Stay Night with all the bells and whistles. With about ten Command Spells, even a human being can damage a Heroic Spirit. Ultimately I did not get the chance to do so. Mmm, True Assassin was not as reliable as I thought he would be (sweat drop)."

Takeuchi: Speaking of strength, who is stronger, Ciel or Kotomine?

Nasu: Ciel is overwhelmingly strong, due to her circuits, constitution and immortality. The strength of Kotomine at the time of Zero was due to his abnormally large number of Command Spells and his tenacity towards Kiritsugu. It was truly the brightest moment of his life. The Kotomine at that time could even win against Ciel.

Alter Ego of thirst of love.
G means gigantism, growing, greed.
It was formerly sealed at the ends of the imaginary number space.
Alter Egos are complexes made from several goddesses, however Protea is created from the essence of the great Mother Goddess that is common throughout all mythologies. Her self can be treated as a Noble Phantasm as she does not possess a Noble Phantasm. As with the Golden White Face, she's a hazard that can only be overcome in battle through the combined strength of several servants.

Class Skills
■ Huge Scale - EX
A cheat skill that evolved from Self-Modification.
There is no limit to how large she can get. Once the upper limit is reached, the upper limit is further increased. This is infinitely repeated. Basically infinite growth of infinite growth.
Anywho, she's a planet destroying universe level disaster, but giant transformation makes her lose complex intelligence and function. This skill cannot bear common sense, so one completely self-destructs.

■ Grow Up Grow - EX
Cheat Skill evolving from Experience Point Bonus.
Experience Point Bonus allows one to gain a bonus percentage of experience points after a battle. King Protea's skill cheats and changes it to "Always gaining Experience Points."

Personal Skills
■ Self-Suggestion - EX
Suggestion applied to oneself.
A skill that raises resistance against mental interference. At A rank "I do not age = Truly stops aging" level of assumption is possible. At EX level, whatever is going on in that mental world is outside of understanding.

Q: In the other Type-Moon works, who else besides Arc can fight against Servants?

A: If we're working on the condition of one on one, with an extremely average Noble Phantasm. Generally most of the 27 Ancestors, Kishima Kouma, Aozaki Aoko.
If it's just a defensive fight, but would still be a fight, then Ciel. Shiki (Rakkyo), Shiki (Tsukihime) are no match for Servants....but Ryougi Shiki (3rd personality) might be able to go as far as the Ciel class.

Q: Since Saber and Gilgamesh have physical bodies in Fate/Stay Night, can Shiki see lines on them?

Q: Since Saber and Gilgamesh have physical bodies in Fate/Stay Night, can Shiki see lines on them? (@LestatDusk)

A: Not just when they have a physical body, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are effective even when they're in spiritual bodies. For Shiki [Ryougi], if the opponent can be recognized as "living" (not "life", but "live"), she can see the lines of death. For example, the ghosts in Overlooking View were dead, but they were "living" in the sense that they can interfere with the current world.
Also, why she didn't succeed against the Sarira in Araya's arm is because it belonged to an enlightened one who achieved "becoming extinguished, alive." To kill it by the lines of death means she has to decipher advanced "lines of death" levels higher than the normal concept of death. But what's sad about bones is that rather than having to do that, they'll turn into ash if you burn them. If you have time to be using Death spells, level up and beat it physically.

Q: Who'd win if the Servants and the 27 Ancestors fought each other? Also, who'd win in a fight between Bazett, a renowned powerhouse of the Association, and Ciel, top class in even the Association?

A: Depends on compatibility, but basically Servants will have the slightly higher advantage. With Saber, Lancer, and Archer classes, we ought to be able to relax and see decent fights. In particular, Saber has THAT sort of Noble Phantasms so against guys like the 27 Ancestors that overwhelm by material quantity and alienness, she'd be REALLY tough.
....Well, there are also some of those tough Ancestors that can withstand a direct hit from Excalibur-class attacks, but against those guys that just (emphasis on just; other stats don't match up) have wickedly high HP, Lancer-aniki'd be pretty tough.

Q: Who would be stronger if Servants fought the 27 Ancestors? Servant's also have superhuman battle ability, but the 27 Ancestors are also superhuman monsters.... I got the impression that ORT, Primate Murder, Altrouge Brunestud, and so on were obviously stronger than Servants.

A: All I can is they're both powerful.... They're both beings that live in mystery, so the only thing that can be said is that it all depends on the situation the moment it comes done to ""having the means of killing the other guy somehow". Among those, Earth rules won't even apply to ORT in the first place and Primate Murder has the super advantage against primates so they're in a league of their own, I suppose. Speaking of which, for one Primate Murder, seven Guardians would be the appropriate amount.